"Unfortunately so much commentary is self-serving or sensationalist. Pete Wargent shines through with his clear, sober & dispassionate analysis of the housing market, which is so valuable. Pete drills into the facts & unlocks the details that others gloss over in their rush to get a headline. On housing Pete is a must read, must follow - he is one of the finest property analysts in Australia" - Stephen Koukoulas, MD of Market Economics, former Senior Economics Adviser to Prime Minister Gillard.

"Pete Wargent is one of Australia's brightest financial minds - a must-follow for articulate, accurate & in-depth analysis." - David Scutt, Business Insider, leading Australian market analyst.

"I've been investing for over 40 years & read nearly every investment book ever written yet I still learned new concepts in his books. Pete Wargent is one of Australia's finest young financial commentators." - Michael Yardney, Australia's leading property expert, Amazon #1 best-selling author.

"The most knowledgeable person on Aussie real estate markets - Pete's work is great, loads of good data and charts, the most comprehensive analyst I follow in Australia. If you follow Australia, follow Pete Wargent" - Jonathan Tepper, Variant Perception, Global Macroeconomic Research, and author of the New York Times bestsellers 'End Game' and 'Code Red'.

"The level of detail in Pete's work is superlative across all of Australia's housing markets" - Grant Williams, co-founder RealVision, author of Things That Make You Go Hmmm...one of the world's most popular & widely-read financial publications.

Saturday, 6 May 2017

US unemployment lowest rate since May 2007

Jobs growth ticks on

The US economy beat expectations of +185,000 jobs in April to add +211,000 positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

After moderate revisions the economy has created sturdy enough average jobs growth of +174,000 over the three months from February, in spite of the weak result in the month of March (revised to just +79,000).

Average jobs growth over the year to date also remains steadily solid.

And over the past year the economy has added 2.24 million jobs.

The employment to population ratio is also at its best level since February 2009 at 60.2 per cent.

Unemployment down to 4.4pc

The rate of job creation continues at a pace sufficient to push down the unemployment rate, which has fallen to its lowest level since May 2007 at 4.4 per cent.

Despite the ongoing decline in the unemployment rate, inflationary pressures have failed to materialise.

Average hourly earnings increased by 7 cents to $26.19, to be 2.5 per cent higher over the year.

Some food for thought here for Australian analysts believing that "full employment" might be reached at an unemployment rate of 5 per cent!

The wrap

"I love it when a plan comes together" in the words of George Peppard.

Overall, it was a decent result, with the Federal Reserve widely expected to hike interest rates in due course.